I was raised Roman Catholic and was not encouraged to read the Bible. I don't know if it was because I was a girl, or because it was to be interpreted by the priests, or what, but it always felt inaccessible to me, and even the stories didn't engage me.
When I tried to read the Bible as a young adult, I couldn't do it. I couldn't slog through all those begats. Now that I'm getting to study the Bible for the first time, I am really starting to get the context of living in a country with such a large Christian demographic.
So, I guess I"m interested in how UUs and everyone else accesses the Bible. Does it bring meaning to your life? What are your favorite verses? Why? How does it inform your life; how does it create transformation?
What other stories and books and poems do you find useful and transformational in your life? (because God knows, I don't have a long enough wish list at Amazon already!)
3 comments:
Yes, it brings meaning to my life, in the same way any example of humans trying to make sense of it all brings meaning to my life.
Favorite verses: 1 Thessalonians 5:21. Matthew 25:40. 1st Corinthians: "The greatest of these is love."
When I am frustrated, I reread about how Jesus's hometown tried to throw him off a freakin' cliff and feel better.
So much poetry is in my head and in my life. Hafiz's "What'll We Do About That Moon" and Whitman's "I Saw in Louisiana A Live Oak Growing."
And the down and dirty practical stuff. I recommend "Living a Call" if you don't already have it.
Also in our NT class, someone is compiling a list of books that UUs might have in a canon. What would you add?
What about UUs outside of the US and Canada?
Mary Oliver and ee cummings were on that list, and that is the only poetry I have ever liked. LE, I will check out your suggestions, because goodness knows, I could use more poetry in my life that is meaningful.
Kelly,
For me the verse that I come back to over and over and over again is Micah 6:8: "What does the Lord require of you but to seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God." Justice. Kindness. Humility
As for poetry, these days Wendell Berry ("The Hidden Singer"), Yehudi Amichai ("A Man in His Life"), Rabindranath Tagore, Leonard Cohen, and Whitman.
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